Book Review: The Obstacle is the Way by Ryan Holiday
I heard a productivity guru I listen to mention that he rereads this book from time to time. Intrigued at what he found so inspiring, I bought it to bring with me camping, thinking I might give it to my older brother if it fit. The full title is "The Obstacle Is The Way: The Ancient ARt of Turning Adversity to Advantage" and the ancient art referred to in it is Stoic Philosophy.
At the very end he gives the Stoic reading list he recommends, and I wonder if that isn't really where to take this book review: start with Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, the Gregory Hayes version. Then go to Letters of a Stoic and On the Shortness of LIfe by Seneca (Penguin translations.) Then Discourses by Epicetus. If you want another book ABOUT Stoicism, he suggests the books by Pierre Hadot.
I find much about the Stoic Philosphy very useful for me as an entreprenuer. Holiday breaks it down into sections where he wants you to contemplate and practice Perception, Action and Will. He explains, "First, see clearly. Next, act correctly. Finally, endure and acept the world as it is." There's a LOT of wisdom in this, but something bugged me. I've been contemplating what it was for the past few weeks. I did NOT end up giving this book to my brother, who is neither entreprenurial nor prone to contemplate perception nor plan an action, and he's already pretty good at enduring. Instead, I kept it to reread sometime for inspiration for when I'm trying to achieve Big Things.
I am not a student of philosophy. Probably others have tread this path and can tell me exactly what I'm about to say (clearer than I will here), but my issue has to do with the subject of independence. Did you know that the word "independence" does not appear in the Christian Bible anywhere? It's not in the Koran, either, other than to say that humans don't get to be independent, that's G*d's job. In Luke when Jesus tells the rich man to give away his wealth and become dependent again, the idea there is that people who don't need social capital aren't likely to attain spiritual bliss. Buddhists have the same idea. Being rich in itself isn't bad, but being independent, doing things for your own goals, your own purposes, your own achievement, your own wealth accumulation: that's bad.
I had a chat with someone the other day about gun safety locks. He explained that he needed to keep his gun unlocked so he could get at it in a moment if he needed it. I found him a gun safe on Amazon that releases with a finger-touch, costs $70, and will prevent his gun from being used by unauthorized users. I told him how my niece was killed with a legally owned gun that was left unsecured and stolen, and how if that legal gunowner had secured his weapon my 20 year old niece would be alive. He explained that the safety of his family was more important than securing the gun against being stolen and hurting someone else, and, LOL, accused me of fearmongering. (Note I'm discussing an actual death, and he's explaining he needs it unsecured in case of a theoretical attack of ninjas or something.) Anyway, his sanguin acceptance of the death of others made me think back to this Stoic philosophy. Don't let the needs of others get in your way. Do you own thing. Defend yourself and your goals. Change the world to be more convenient to you. Be independent.
My way isn't going to be the Stoic way. I want to seek out the Win Win. I want to thrive and prosper WHILE making the world a better place. I want to help people who pay me, and help people who benefit from the charities I fund and the taxes I pay. I want to slice through this world as if I'm walking through a wheat field and leaving only a small path of damage. Some bent shaffs will be inevitable, I'm not aspiring to the Buddhist idea of doing NO harm, but I'd like to mitigate it out of concern to the rest of the biosphere on this planet. I'm not independent, I'm part of a web, a patchwork quilt, and that both dampens my ambition and warms and comforts me.
At the very end he gives the Stoic reading list he recommends, and I wonder if that isn't really where to take this book review: start with Meditations by Marcus Aurelius, the Gregory Hayes version. Then go to Letters of a Stoic and On the Shortness of LIfe by Seneca (Penguin translations.) Then Discourses by Epicetus. If you want another book ABOUT Stoicism, he suggests the books by Pierre Hadot.
I find much about the Stoic Philosphy very useful for me as an entreprenuer. Holiday breaks it down into sections where he wants you to contemplate and practice Perception, Action and Will. He explains, "First, see clearly. Next, act correctly. Finally, endure and acept the world as it is." There's a LOT of wisdom in this, but something bugged me. I've been contemplating what it was for the past few weeks. I did NOT end up giving this book to my brother, who is neither entreprenurial nor prone to contemplate perception nor plan an action, and he's already pretty good at enduring. Instead, I kept it to reread sometime for inspiration for when I'm trying to achieve Big Things.
I am not a student of philosophy. Probably others have tread this path and can tell me exactly what I'm about to say (clearer than I will here), but my issue has to do with the subject of independence. Did you know that the word "independence" does not appear in the Christian Bible anywhere? It's not in the Koran, either, other than to say that humans don't get to be independent, that's G*d's job. In Luke when Jesus tells the rich man to give away his wealth and become dependent again, the idea there is that people who don't need social capital aren't likely to attain spiritual bliss. Buddhists have the same idea. Being rich in itself isn't bad, but being independent, doing things for your own goals, your own purposes, your own achievement, your own wealth accumulation: that's bad.
I had a chat with someone the other day about gun safety locks. He explained that he needed to keep his gun unlocked so he could get at it in a moment if he needed it. I found him a gun safe on Amazon that releases with a finger-touch, costs $70, and will prevent his gun from being used by unauthorized users. I told him how my niece was killed with a legally owned gun that was left unsecured and stolen, and how if that legal gunowner had secured his weapon my 20 year old niece would be alive. He explained that the safety of his family was more important than securing the gun against being stolen and hurting someone else, and, LOL, accused me of fearmongering. (Note I'm discussing an actual death, and he's explaining he needs it unsecured in case of a theoretical attack of ninjas or something.) Anyway, his sanguin acceptance of the death of others made me think back to this Stoic philosophy. Don't let the needs of others get in your way. Do you own thing. Defend yourself and your goals. Change the world to be more convenient to you. Be independent.
My way isn't going to be the Stoic way. I want to seek out the Win Win. I want to thrive and prosper WHILE making the world a better place. I want to help people who pay me, and help people who benefit from the charities I fund and the taxes I pay. I want to slice through this world as if I'm walking through a wheat field and leaving only a small path of damage. Some bent shaffs will be inevitable, I'm not aspiring to the Buddhist idea of doing NO harm, but I'd like to mitigate it out of concern to the rest of the biosphere on this planet. I'm not independent, I'm part of a web, a patchwork quilt, and that both dampens my ambition and warms and comforts me.